In October of 2001, NATO forces led by the American military rolled into the country and embarked on a six-month, 24/7 nationwide carpet bombing campaign that only netted the country’s capital city of Kabul. The goals were to smash the Taliban into oblivion (failed), smash Al Qaeda into oblivion (failed), and apprehend Osama Bin Laden (failed).

Now here we are, six years into an occupation being administered by the most advanced military fighting force in human history, and that force has been unable to build on the only good thing the Taliban ever did. Worse, record opium harvests have been produced every single year of that occupation.

It’s very hard for me to grasp how such a turn of events could come about by accident or stupidity.

UPDATE: The Mother Jones Blog has a brutal post about this issue. Go read it.